How Can My Business Protect Its IP?

Your company’s intellectual property could be the most valuable property it owns. It may be critical to your current and future success. Just because you can’t easily put a dollar value on it or the fact it may all fit on a thumb drive doesn’t mean it lacks value.

What Is Intellectual Property?

When you hear the term “intellectual property” (IP), you may immediately think of your logo, company patents, and advertising or marketing material. However, IP also includes trade secrets, which are confidential information giving your company its competitive advantage according to a business litigation lawyer. Trade secrets may include formulas, processes, techniques, customer lists, and other proprietary information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable by others. 

Unlike patents, trademarks, and copyrights, trade secrets are protected as long as they are confidential, and you make efforts to keep them secret. As much as you don’t want someone stealing your name and logo to sell counterfeit products, your trade secrets are the keys to your kingdom. You must maintain control of them.

What Can I Do to Protect Our Intellectual Property?

There are several steps you can take according to Focus Law LA:

• Identify and define what constitutes your company’s IP. This might include trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and proprietary technologies
• Consider registering it with the proper government agencies depending on the type of intellectual property. Trademarks and patents are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Copyrights can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office
• Thoroughly document your intellectual property, including registration certificates, licensing agreements, inventories, and records of enforcement actions
• When sharing sensitive information with employees, contractors, vendors, or partners, use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to help ensure they understand their obligations to keep your IP confidential
• Establish and implement internal policies and procedures to safeguard your IP. This might include limiting access to sensitive information on a need-to-know basis, implementing password protection and encryption for digital files, and establishing protocols for handling confidential information
• Monitor the marketplace regularly for potential infringements of your rights. If you discover unauthorized IP use, take prompt action to enforce them, which may include sending cease-and-desist letters, filing lawsuits, or pursuing alternative dispute-resolution methods
• Educate employees about the importance of protecting IP and provide training on best practices for safeguarding your confidential information
• Include provisions that protect your IP rights and specify how your IP can be used, reproduced, or shared when entering into contracts or licensing agreements with third parties
• Implement measures to protect your digital IP, such as digital rights management software, firewalls, encryption, and watermarking
• Stay informed about changes to intellectual property laws and industry best practices. Adapt your IP protection strategies to address new and evolving threats 

By implementing these strategies, your business can protect its IP and reduce the risk of unauthorized use, infringement, or misappropriation. Although managing and protecting your IP can consume your limited resources, the costs of its unauthorized use could be much greater.

If you need help with your business’s intellectual property, contact a lawyer near you.